Waggy Banjo Bolts

[53flatty]

I'm putting FSJ axles under my Flatfender, and I am having a devil of a time locating the right size banjo bolts for the calipers. I am using the dana 44 front from a '78 Wagoneer. I bought reman. calipers from Advance Auto, which don't come with the banjo bolts. I bought the 7/16" yesterday, but they are too big. I went back, and they tell me that the only other option they have is a 10mm. I'm certain it shouldn't be metric. I have threaded a 3/8" bolt into the caliper and it seems to fit (just a little loose), but no one has 3/8" banjo's. (at least no where local)

Can anyone conform that it should be 3/8" course threads?

Thanks,

Tim Harris

[jasonthomasfrance]

Side question... Did you have to cut the D44 tubes down to fit under the Flattie? And do you have any pics??!!

[RdHawg]

I'd have to guess the 10MM (10MM =.394 3/8=.375) if you could get the 3/8 bolt to fit (Their normally about .01 under nom. size.) Then it's quite possibly the same size of a 10MM tap drill. But please post your findings cause I'm about to tackle the same question.

[53flatty]

The most completed pics here:

http://community.webshots.com/user/53Flattie

I didn't cut mine any, but I did have to outboard the springs. For a look at that setup, go here, and click on the photo page.
www.eastcoastoffroad.rockcrawler.com (http://www.eastcoastoffroad.rockcrawler.com)

So a 10mm is actually larger than a 3/8", huh? ****, I should have paid better attention in math! It sounds like that should work perfectly.

[dharmabum]

Actually I just did a disc swap on my Commando using parts from a 78 wagoneer and ended up going to newer calipers so I could get longer off the shelf brake lines. It seems by the part numbers I found anyway that 78-79 was the switch over to metric banjo bolts so if you got rebuilt calipers they might well be metric. I foung that 1/2 ton chevy truck parts of the same year are identical with the brake lines being about 6 inches longer than stock jeep lines. I went for newer calipers (I told the parts guy 80 Chevy 1/2 ton 4WD) and lines for the same with banjo bolts to match. They were metric bolts so make sure you get new washers too. My old calipers and lines were standard thread so nothing would have matched up.
Good luck.

[53flatty]

Thanks, dharmabum. I guess I'll try the 10mm. I already bought the lines (3'6" lines!), and the banjo fittings to match the incorrect bolts, but I'm sure I can take those back.

That makes sense about the bolts changing over to metric with the remanufacture.

Tim

[53flatty]

As it turns out they were metric from the factory. I went to a local Jeep/Eagle Dealership and had them look it up. They could only go back to '81, so I had them use that year (I assumed they were still using the 44 in Wagoneer's then). He found two in a warehouse in Atlanta. Had them in hand the next day and up to the shop to check them out. They fit perfect. I really would have lost money on that if I were a bettin' man b/c I never thought they went to metric that early (or on a domestic vehicle)!

Thanks for the help guys.

Tim Harris

[dharmabum]

Yeah I was surprised to find that out on mine as well but glad you got it worked out.

[2ndtimearround]

You will find metric starting about 1974-75 for North American iron. That was when both Canada and the U.S. where officially adopting SI (System International).

27 years later -- in Canada you buy gas in litres, road signs are in kilometres, and everything else is labled in both....Imperial and SI plus English and French..... and the U.S. is still Imperial.

Lawrenmce

[ October 25, 2002, 09:09 PM: Message edited by: 2ndtimearround ]